Catalog of Lectures

This lecture covers major waves of emigration beginning in the 17th century.  Topics include why the Irish left and what regions of Ireland they came from, and where they settled.  

This lecture offers many examples of the more prominent records for genealogy in Italy and how best to read them and translate them. 

Newspapers contain a wealth of information for genealogists from obituaries to birth and marriage announcements, from feature articles to classifieds. Newspapers also provide historical narrative and a glimpse into your ancestor’s everyday life. You will learn what information is available, how it can help you in your family history research, and how to access these important resources—especially those available at the American Ancestors library and on AmericanAncestors.org.

Beyond civil and church records, there are many resources that can assist you in your family history research. This session will review town Lineage/family books (Ortssippenbuch/Ortsfamilienbuch), census records (Volkszählungen), emigration records, occupational records, and military records. We will also discuss how to work with German archives and researchers remotely. 

Notarial records are an essential—yet often overlooked—resource for family historians researching ancestors with roots in Quebec. From marriages to estate inventories to labor contracts these records can provide a wealth of genealogical information not found elsewhere. Join us to learn about what types of notarial records exist, how to access them, and how to get the most out of these important resources.

In researching your family history, you quickly become inundated with physical copies, email and other electronic files, handwritten notes, photographs, research logs, and more. We will discuss various systems on how to organize your files, so you can easily return to your work, find what you need on a particular person or family, and not duplicate your efforts. 

Centuries of Irish history were lost as a result of the Four Courts Fire in Dublin in 1922. We will delve into the history leading up to the battle at the Four Courts, discuss the records that were housed in the Public Records Office, and explain why their destruction has made researching in Ireland so difficult. The lecture will also include record alternatives, what survived, records in other repositories and an initiative to recreate a virtual Public Records Office.

While most countries base citizenship on place of birth, parentage, and marriage, some countries also offer citizenship by descent—meaning if you have ancestors who were citizens of that country two, three, or even four generations back, you might qualify for dual citizenship! Two well-known examples are Italy and Ireland. In this webinar, we will go over the requirements involved for these two countries, gathering documentation, applying—and waiting—for dual citizenship.

This lecture will provide the basics on key terms you’re likely to encounter and how to decipher old German script—Kurrent/Sütterlin or "deutsche Schrift"—and German Gothic (Fraktur) font. 

Today there are an estimated 7.6 million Jewish Americans living in the country, the majority of whom descend from diaspora Jewish populations from Central and Eastern Europe. Learning how to trace your Jewish ancestry is not without its challenges: changing surnames, locating your ancestor's home village or shtetl, and access to overseas records are just the tip of the iceberg. This webinar will discuss the historical context of your ancestor's arrival in the United States, review American records that can be helpful in your research, and provide basic strategies for uncovering your ancestor's exact origins in the old country.